Lambiek, the oldest comic book store in Europe, just celebrated it’s 40th birthday and still manages to attract comic book aficionados of all ages and walks of life to its cozy but cluttered domain.

The haphazardly clustered piles of books that dominate the store make finding a specific title a bit tricky, but luckily the staff all has a keen spidey sense and will quickly latch on to your book of choice. They also offer good suggestions for uninitiated and expert alike, and vociferous discussions and debates about graphic novels and comics are never far away. Besides publications in various shapes and sizes, they also stock merchandise, action figures, vintage toys, tee shirts and buttons, and have a very sizable collection of comic book-related art, courtesy of some of the biggest names in the business who’ve all dropped by Lambiek at a certain point in time.

If you’re lucky, you might bump into your favorite author during a signing session or the festive opening of an exposition, when all the Dutch authors, publishers and professional comic book geeks gather to socialize and shindig.